The Creature From The Grant Mansion
by GoldGuardian2418
Summary: Cassie is afraid to swim, but there's one alien who's willing to teach her, if she sees he's not a monster. Tickles and fluff included!


**A story requested by guestsurprise, who owns Cassie and Gena. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy!**

 **I only own Rachel and the Grant Mansion. Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man Of Action. Also, small reference of the movie: "The Creature From The Black Lagoon", which I do not own.**

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 **The Creature From The Grant Mansion**

"Cassie, are you sure you don't want to go swimming, honey?" asked Rachel, who was about ready to go into the indoor pool at the Grant Mansion.

Cassie shook her head. "No thanks," she said. "I'll just sit on the side and dangle my feet in the water."

Rachel was concerned because for the past week she had been asking Cassie if she wanted to swim in the pool, but the preteen always refused. She began to wonder why. "Okay," she said. "If you change your mind, you're more than welcome to jump in."

With that, the owner of the Grant Mansion dived into the pool and came up gracefully. Cassie watched her aunt swim and wished she could swim too, but a long time ago, she had nearly drowned in a pool and that made her scared to go swimming and put her head under water. She wasn't scared of water, just of swimming. Even though she had been little when that happened and had been rescued in time by a concerned neighbor who had heard her screaming for help, the mental scar ran deep. She now watched her aunt do a cannonball into the deep end and come up, swimming to the side of the pool where Cassie was and getting out to sit beside her. "Whew!" said Rachel. "Swimming's great, but you can tire pretty quickly in the water."

"Yeah," said Cassie softly.

Suddenly, something splashed into the pool, making them jump and Rachel gasped a bit when she saw who had jumped in. "Hey, bro, don't give our hearts jumpstarts like that," she said.

Cassie gazed into the water and screamed when she saw a terrifying face with sharp teeth rise out of the water near her and Rachel. Cassie pulled herself away with another scream. "Monster in the water!" she screamed.

"Cassie! Whoa! It's okay," said Rachel, who tried to grab her niece to stop her from running, but Cassie jumped back.

"Watch out, Aunt Rachel! He's going to drag you back to his lagoon!" the preteen screamed out.

"Lagoon?" asked the monster. "What is she talking about, Rach?"

"He even knows your name!"

Rachel winced. "Well, I should think he would," she said lightly to try and get Cassie to calm down. "After all, I have known him for a good few years."

"THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON HAS BEEN LIVING HERE FOR A FEW YEARS!" Cassie screamed louder, making both her aunt and the monster wince before the monster jumped out and sat down on the edge before his tail became two legs and he stood up next to Rachel.

That did it for Cassie. She stepped back.

And fell backwards into the pool.

"CASSIE!" Rachel screamed in horror as she moved quickly towards the deep end where Cassie had fallen in. She saw her struggling to get to the surface. "She's going to drown!"

She was about to jump in when the monster grabbed her shoulder. "Let me," he said.

Seeing that he wanted to calm Cassie down, but also that he was stronger than Rachel and could get to Cassie faster, she nodded. "Hurry, Ripjaws," she said.

He dove into the water and his legs became a tail before he swam quickly down to Cassie, who was about to black out as she was holding her breath, but was sinking. Seeing him coming, she began struggling, but her limbs were getting heavy. Ripjaws quickly grabbed her and swam up to the surface, making sure her head got above water before his head did.

Cassie's breathing was erratic as Ripjaws gently pulled her over to Rachel, who grabbed her and quickly started CPR to get the water out of Cassie's lungs. She had only done it for a few seconds when Cassie suddenly jerked and coughed up a couple mouthfuls of water, taking deep breaths for a bit.

Picking her up, Rachel raced to Frankenstrike's lab. The scientist wasted no time checking Cassie's lungs after being told what happened.

"Well," he said, putting his stethoscope back around his neck. "Her lungs are clear, but I'm going to insist she rest for a few hours. She's still in a bit of shock."

Cassie suddenly started to cry, making both her aunt and uncle turn to her. "I…I didn't want you to know," she whimpered.

"Know what?" asked Frankenstrike.

Rachel came up to her. "Cassie, did you have a bad experience with water when you were younger?" she asked. "Have you had any swimming lessons?"

The preteen nodded her head to the first question. "When I was little, I almost drowned in a pool," she said. "I've been scared to swim since. I'm not scared of water, just of swimming in it."

"Oh, honey."

Rachel pulled Cassie into a comforting hug, holding her and reassuring her she was safe.

Ripjaws listened and was shocked. "No wonder she was having trouble swimming," he said to himself. "She can't swim at all."

He went back to his room and jumped into the huge water tank and began thinking. If he could get Cassie to see he wasn't a scary monster, he could no doubt teach her how to swim. Or to at least not be afraid to swim.

He went back to the pool and waited patiently.

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Cassie had rested for a few hours and now went back to the pool, sitting on the edge and gazing down in it before deciding to try the shallow end of the pool. She went into the locker rooms to change into her swimsuit and went to the shallow end of the pool, taking a deep breath and slowly stepping down the stairs into the pool.

Ripjaws watched her from the deep end. "Come on, kid," he said softly. "You can do it."

Cassie was soon in the water, which was waist high on her. Trying not to panic and jump out of the pool right away, she began walking slowly, not seeing the monster from before following her until she felt someone grab her. Letting out a shout, she saw it was the same monster.

"Easy, Cassie," he said gently.

She screamed in fear and began moving as fast as she could from him, but he swam beside her until adrenaline took over on her and she began moving her arms and kicking her legs like no tomorrow. Ripjaws dove under water and chased after her, concerned she would tire and sink again.

His concerns came true when she reached the middle of the deep end and stopped, kicking her legs to try and stay afloat. She then saw the side of the pool and kicked her legs hard while dog paddling to the side, grabbing onto the edge as she tried to catch her breath.

"Take your time, Cassie," she heard the monster say as he came up to her.

She screamed again. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" she begged, pushing away from the side and trying to swim away from him. "I'm not going to let you kidnap me!"

She would have continued if she didn't tire out suddenly. Seeing that she was about to sink again, Ripjaws dove down and moved underneath where Cassie was and came up, one arm tucking itself under her knees and the other arm wrapping around her back. She gasped in fear.

"Will you at least let me save you from drowning again?" he asked as he swam over to the edge and gently set her down on it, staying nearby as she tried to catch her breath. She shivered a bit and he jumped out and grabbed a towel and placed it around her before jumping back into the water. She looked at him with confusion.

"Why haven't you dragged me to you lagoon?" she asked him.

He chuckled. "Because I'm not that kind of monster," he said gently. "Actually, I'm not a monster at all. I'm an alien."

She looked puzzled. "An alien fish?" she asked.

He smiled and lifted up his tail, which to Cassie's shock became two legs before going back to a tail. "Pretty cool, huh?" he said.

He saw she was curious. "Why would you need legs if you're a fish?" she asked before she realized that was a rude question and she looked horrified.

He jumped up and sat down beside her. "It's okay," he said. "I was actually wondering when you would ask that one."

"You were?" she asked. "Do you have a name?"

He smiled at her. "My name is Ripjaws," he said. "And you must be Four Arms' daughter."

"Yes," said Cassie.

Ripjaws smiled. "He brags about you a lot," he said.

"Cassie?" called a concerned voice as Gena came downstairs. When she saw Ripjaws with Cassie and the alien fish's appearance, she immediately went into her powered-up mode. "Get away from my daughter!"

"Gena, wait!" called Rachel, who had come running downstairs and now jumped in front of Gena. "It's okay. Ripjaws is one of my brothers."

Gena wasn't really listening to Rachel, but Cassie stood up. "Mom, Ripjaws is cool," she said. "He saved me from drowning, twice."

Gena froze. "From…drowning?" she asked.

Cassie nodded. "I can't swim and he saved me when I was about to drown," she said.

Rachel gently touched Gena's arm. "Ripjaws would never harm a child," she said. "Despite his scary appearance, he is both loyal and gentle."

Gena finally calmed down and powered down, looking over at Ripjaws who now swam over to them.

"It's nice to meet you and your daughter, Gena," he said. "Four Arms bragged about you two constantly on our last mission. He thinks the world of you and he's very proud of Cassie."

Cassie blushed and Gena looked surprised. "He did?" she asked.

Four red arms suddenly lifted both Gena and Cassie up into a muscular chest. "Of course I did," said Four Arms as he hugged his fiancée and daughter. "I thought the guys would get tired of hearing me brag about you two, but they didn't."

"Of course not," said Ripjaws. "After all, they are family."

Cassie looked at him. "Does that mean you're another uncle for me?" she asked hopefully.

Both aliens chuckled. "That's right, kiddo," said Four Arms as he rubbed her back. "You know, Ripjaws is one of the best swimmers among us at the Mansion."

"That's right," said Rachel, catching on what the Tetramand was thinking. Four Arms winked at Rachel and gestured with his head down to Cassie and the gestured it to Ripjaws. She turned to the alien fish. "Ripjaws, would you be willing to teach Cassie how to swim?" she asked.

He smiled. "If Cassie has no objections, I'd be happy to," he said.

Cassie looked at him and nodded. "Please?" she asked.

Ripjaws nodded. "Okay, kiddo. First thing…,"

He didn't get to finish as Cassie jumped in suddenly, creating a splash of water that startled Ripjaws as he got splashed. The preteen surfaced with a giggle and he looked at her. "Okay, didn't expect…,"

She dove down before he could finish again and he looked at Rachel. "What is that kid doing?" he asked.

The owner of the Grant Mansion shrugged as she had no idea. Suddenly, Ripjaws felt someone gently yank on his tail, pulling him under quickly before letting go. He surfaced and gazed down to see Cassie swimming away quickly and surfacing nearby. With a sneaky smile, he dove underwater.

Rachel smiled. "Well, you're taking to water like a fish," she said.

"I guess cause I know I'm safe," she said. "Besides, the shallow end isn't so bad."

Two arms suddenly grabbed her from behind. "True," said Ripjaws. "The shallow end is also good for something else."

Cassie tried to squirm away, but the alien was too strong. "Hey, Four Arms, where's your daughter's tickle spot?" he asked, making Cassie squirm harder to get away.

The red alien and the two girls beside him started laughing. "Her stomach," said the Tetramand. "And she's very ticklish too."

Ripjaws smiled. "Then I think it's time for a little payback," he said as he began tickling Cassie's stomach.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOP! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Cassie begged him.

He smiled. "Nope," he said with gentle teasing. "You've got too cute of a laugh for me to stop."

Cassie was desperate as she squirmed to escape, but Ripjaws held her as he tickled her stomach and her underarms before moving her her sides. She kept giggling and laughing.

Then, Ripjaws held her with one arm around her back and she was sitting in his lap and his free hand tickled her knees. She let out a yelp and laughed some more.

"Hey, Ripjaws," called Four Arms as he got into the water with his clothes on. "How about a team up?"

The alien fish smiled. "Sure," he said and let the Tetramand take hold of Cassie, encasing her in a strong, yet gentle, bear hug as Ripjaws, who now had both hands free, began tickling Cassie's feet.

The young girl squealed as she tried to pull her feet away, but she was trapped and Ripjaws smirked before poking her stomach, making her giggle again. "She really can't stand this," said Four Arms as he suddenly blew a raspberry into Cassie's neck.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DADDY! AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!" Cassie laughed out.

"You got her neck?" asked Ripjaws.

"Yup," said Four Arms. "You go for her stomach."

"On it."

Cassie laughed her hardest as she felt her father blow raspberries into her neck and her new uncle blow raspberries into her stomach. Her swimsuit, since it was wet, didn't provide much protection against her tickle torturers.

Rachel and Gena laughed as they watched the cute scene until the two aliens stopped, seeing Cassie was tired. Four Arms carried her out of the pool and Ripjaws jumped out to join them.

Rachel smiled. "Looks like you guys had fun," she said.

The aliens nodded and Cassie giggled before squirming in her father's arms. He set her down and she went over to Ripjaws, giving him a hug. "Thanks, Uncle Ripjaws," she said, making the others smile.

"Hey, anytime, kiddo," he said. "Why don't we start those swimming lessons tomorrow? You look about ready to fall asleep."

He had no sooner said that when Cassie's eyes closed and she did fall asleep. Rachel smiled. "She really is tired," she said quietly.

With a smile, Ripjaws gently kissed Cassie's forehead in affection before gently handing her to Four Arms, who smiled and carried his daughter upstairs to her room.

Gena turned to Ripjaws. "Thank you," she said. "For saving Cassie and agreeing to teach her how to swim."

"You're welcome," he said. "She's a great kid. A little mischievous, but still a great kid I'm proud to call my niece."

She smiled and hugged him as Rachel watched them for a moment before hugging them both, happy to have such two caring people in her huge family.

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 **Please leave a review, but no flames!**

 **GoldGuardian2418**


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